lathe tool holder ideas?

[reible]

Hi,

I'm just getting into bowl turning... well I started collecting tools and reading up on the subject about a year ago but have yet to really do any.... I did do some candle stick holders with faceplate turnings (as gifts about 10-12 years ago) but I don't think that counts... anyway one of the items I got was the bowl turning chisel set from shopsmith. This has messed up my storage as the new set will not fit in the drawer I designed with the stock set in mind....

While my shop is shut down for the winter I am working on shopsmith plans for the spring... one of them is a new storage system for my lathe tools and this might include some way of having them more at hand then pulling out the old drawer and finding someplace to sit it down near by.... now I don't do a lot of lathe work so this has worked in the past but it looks like a change is due and who better to give me some ideas but other shopsmith owners???

If you have some ideas to share please post them... photos are always welcome.

By the way if you have ideas related to some of the other lathe sets include them... who knows I might even get into pen turning or mini-turning someday.

Ed

[paulmcohen]

You might think of how to store the universal tool holder, it is large and heavy and hard to store. I just finished a wall mounted tool holder for the basic Shopsmith set, plus a mini-set I use for pen turning and a few bowl scrapers and no sooner did I finish it did I get two new longer Sorby tools that don't fit.

I also would like something to keep the 4-5 tools I need for a project close to the Shopsmith. This has nothing to do with the way sets come, I have seen several good ones for other lathes but they don't fit the Shopsmith bed.

[rdubbs]

If you are just looking for a place to set your lathe tools while you're turning, then I've seen a tool holder that should work. I don't have a photo or a drawing, but you make a frame (like the sides of a drawer) about 3" high and 12" x 18" (vary to suit). Equally spaced in the middle (just the short sides or both) form 2 semi-circular holes that fit the demensions of the way tubes. Cut a dado just above the tops of the holes for a hardboard or thin plywood bottom, and you have a tray that won't vibrate off the way tubes while you're working. If you want to use it on the support tubes under your turning, you might consider drilling holes for long dowel rods to replace the hardboard so that shavings fall through.

[jimb]

Look on the Shopsmith site under projects and look for chisel holder. This is made from a 3/4" board and can be as wide as needed for the tool you hold. I made mine to hold 4 lathe chisels. It keeps them on the way tubes, real handy. Make one! http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/proj_articles/chiselholder/index.htm
Jim

[Greenvilleguy]

I'm in the same boat. My chisel collection is growing rapidily. Here are two ideas for storing chisels.

1. I'm in he process of building a simple shelf with holes (different size holes as needed) to store my chisels verically (handles up). I have wall cleats all around my shop so the shelf could be easily moved. I can't take credit for this idea. My local Woodcraft stores their turning chisels this way in their classroom / shop. With the shelf at a convenient height, I'll be able to easily access "special purpose tools" as I work.

2. One of Woodcraft instructors simply cut a piece of plywood to fit in the top part of a 5 gallon bucket. He cut holes in the plywood and carries his chisels (hande up) in the bucket.

[deanthom]

I, too, have been contemplating some means of keeping all the stuff I want/need to use for a given project near me, that would also provide a reasonable way to store some things.

One thing I've come to is that most of my projects are not long enough to require the entire length of the machine. That means I can use both the way tubes and I can park the extension table in the non-tailstock end and clamp any number of nifty things to it. I'm dreaming and scheming right now, probably going to end up with something about twice the width of the that table, and about as long. The part on the table will end up as a shallow box or as boxes for keeping finishing materials (sandpaper through glues through friction polish). The other portion will be a "holey" board designed to support the 9-11 chisels I'm using for that project, along with a special space for my chuck key, hex wrench, live center(s) and drive center. I plan to offset the chisel holes so that there is less likelihood of clanging together and damaging cutting edges. I want to be able to see them, so I may just make the shelf thick enough to discourage that rattling. Otherwise, I'd visit my golf pro shop or Wally's World and pick up some golf-club bag liners and use those under the holes to make sure they didn't clang.

Mental plan is to do this out of some MDF that I have hanging around the shop and to clamp it with carriage bolts and wing nuts. I don't want to lose too much space on the tubes as that's where I lay a couple of tubes of sand to dampen vibration. 'Course, I could figure a way to include the sand in my plans, too...

[ericolson]

'Course, I could figure a way to include the sand in my plans, too...

Dean;

I'm wondering (and maybe this is a really dumb idea), but has anyone every tried filling the lower way tubes with sand? I know this wouldn't add as much weight as to bags of sand, but it could be a way to dampen vibration. I think...

Eric
...again, reaching for the stars while sleeping in the mud...

[reible]

We had a major posting at the ssug.org site on this... good clean fun I would say, and a lot of math errors but the sand in the tubes is worth only about 12 pounds....... even lead is not much of an answer but rather then go through all this take a look at:
www.ssug.org/forums//viewtopic.php?t=1173

You will have to get farther into the posting to where we start showing our math skills.... or lack of them.... and towards the end we even come up with a few ideas that just might work, but I don't think anyone really tried them.

Ed

[deanthom]

As Ed said, yup, we've talked about it. Even figured out a way to do it better. We had a couple of weeks worth of discussion. We searched out how to find pure led bird shot so that there would be as little space as possible between the particles of lead. Parting shot was that if we visited the local auto tire repair place, they'd probably be happy to provide 60 pounds of lead in the form of dead tire weights. Those would flatten out pretty well and tamp into place.

And I think you'd agree that the price would certainly be right.

[paulmcohen]

The universal tool rest adds 35 pounds and seems to make a difference so I guess another 60 would help even more. Has anyone actually tried to add lead tire weights?